Defining Documents in the EU Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Where Is the “European Choice” Heading?

Over the past two decades, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) European Union (EU) integration process has garnered significant scholarly attention in the context of Western Balkans studies. This article contributes to this discourse by employing a descriptive analysis approach to examine thirty-one key legal documents issued between 1992 and 2022 by the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Ministers, and Presidency. These documents serve as primary sources, offering crucial insights into BiH’s legal framework governing its EU integration efforts. Through rigorous textual analysis, this article evaluates the efficacy of these documents in facilitating the necessary reforms for EU accession. The findings reveal a significant discrepancy between the rhetoric of reform in governmental papers and the actual implementation of these reforms in BiH’s political landscape. This highlights systemic challenges within BiH’s governance that hinder effective reform implementation and EU accession progress. By critically analyzing these legal documents, this article provides a nuanced understanding of BiH’s EU integration trajectory, emphasizing the gap between policy formulation and implementation. It argues that mere rhetorical commitments in governmental documents are insufficient to drive meaningful reform in BiH and achieve EU membership.